AATB

What is the impact of Design Week on Milan? It’s a question we ask ourselves every year when shaping our program. Grounded in responsible material practice, durable design and guided by a focus on continuity and purpose, we developed — together with @nike — AirLab: a project conceived not as a showcase, but as a contribution. AirLab is a laboratory where air becomes a medium for making — shaping materials, forms, design and architecture through machines, processes and experimentation. Presented during Design Week, it was never meant to end there. AirLab now becomes a permanent facility within Dropcity, open to the wider community of designers and architects in Milan and beyond. This is our proposition: to use the opportunities generated by Design Week not for instant consumption and inevitable disuse, but to transform them into lasting civic infrastructure. To turn an event into a resource. A temporary moment into long-term value. Design, in this context, it’s about setting conditions. It’s not a statement, but a shared tool. - Dropcity Team Project Leadership Giada Zuan Concept and Research Aleksandra Fixl Barbara Xu Luca de Carvalho Project Management Silvia Guerrini Air Lab Direction Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet @aatb_ch Michela Pascali Air Lab Staff Cecilia Cardinali Francesca Parmiggiani Lena Brkic Rohan Rana Valentina Steffenoni Building Architect Jacopo Suardi Exhibition Design Andrea Derni Aleksandra Fixl Ilayda Nehir Joddy Patrianagara Manuela Mannarini Riccardo Squarcina Production Coordination Bogdan Martoiu Production Development Barbara Xu Costanza Caccialanza Elena Ferrando Sound Equipment Giorgio Di Salvo (Air Entrance) @giorgiodisalvo Marinella Malerba (Air Culture) Workshops Program Coordination and Management Arianna Bravi Beatrice Del Core Gian Marco Bonzi Sofia Chiurazzi Vanessa Pinzoni Technical Support B.S. Macchine @bsmacchine Leister Technologies Italia @leister.italia Scott AM

Anticlimactic Clock (cold), AATB, 2026 In Anticlimactic Clock (cold), a patch of frost is seen suspended in the reflection of a polished stainless sheet. It is not static but drifting, migrating away and towards new terrains. It exists in a transient thermal excursion, a cold front forming new ice crystals, and a melting, receding line leaving only molten droplets behind, physical remains evaporating away and leaving only faint residues. The work borrows the rythm of glacial advances and retreats and compresses geological timescales in a tempo. It is not an escape, but a cycle. A cold minimum retreating into itself, over and over, with no destination to reach. The piece refuses the idea of climax, the drama of climate folded into a rythm that will not resolve. Currently on view during Milan Design Week at @dropcity_org @nike Air_Lab. Dropcity Tunnel 78, Via Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Milano, open until Sunday 11h – 19h Studio Documentation with @giannicamporota at @blowupstudio571a

@dropcity_org presents a continuous program of workshops, live fabrication sessions and open studios. From April 20 to 26, all lab spaces are active daily from 11am to 7pm, with ongoing live working sessions offering continuous access to processes, experimentation and making. Opening on April 19, from 5pm to 9pm. All workshops are FREE and accessible upon registration, check link in bio. AIR LAB Air as Evidence - act I with: Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet @aatb_ch © AATB & Daniel Morgan (Lead Designer, Innovation Apparel Product Design) Making the invisible visible. Engage directly with airflow systems to master foundational principles and explore air as an invisible, dynamic design element. Workshop
April 19, 5-7pm Air as Evidence – act II
with Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet © AATB & Daniel Morgan (Lead Designer, Nike Innovation Apparel Product Design) Make heat visible. Use thermochromic paint to reveal hidden thermal flows and work with heat as a design material. Workshop
April 20, 5-7pm Air as Evidence – act III
with Karen Antorveza @kaphend (ETH Researcher) & Marya Chan (Director, Nike Sportswear Footwear Color & Materials Design) Reveal the unseen. Learn airbrushing by working directly with paint, pressure, and airflow as core design tools. Workshop
April 20, 5-7pm Check link in bio for registration!

See you in Milan! Our Anticlimactic Clock freezes time. Opening on Sunday. Come and see two of our new works at @dropcity_org @nike Air_Lab. Exhibition by @nike  x @dropcity_org Air Lab workshop programming by @aatb_ch Studio documentation with @giannicamporota at @blowupstudio571a

NikeAir_Lab by Nike x Dropcity Free entry Opening: April 19, 5pm Exhibition: April 20-26, 11-7pm Created in collaboration with Dropcity, NikeAir_Lab is an exploration of the invisible made tangible. Investigating Nike’s enduring obsession with air, it showcases inventor Frank Rudy’s original experiments, Air Max grails and everything in between. Up-to-the-minute athlete innovations like Nike Air Liquid Max, FlyWeb, Radical AirFlow and Therma-FIT Air Milano are joined by nearly 100 never-before-seen, future-forward prototypes. Cutting-edge machinery and a curated selection of reading materials are on offer, with talks, listening sessions and hands-on workshops held daily.  Exhibition by @nike x @dropcity_org Exhibition design by Nike Global Design and the Dropcity Design Team  Music curation by @clubtoclub Air Lab workshop programming by @aatb_ch Uniforms by @olderstudio Prototype photography by @mattiaiotti

KI schläft, entwirft Arten und simuliert ganze Wälder. Sechs weitere Arbeiten sind ab 20. März bei „After the Algorithm“ Festival zu sehen: ‘Training Grounds’ – @aatb_ch Ein humanoider Roboter scheint zu schlafen — zwischen Traum und Retraining erscheint maschinelles Lernen als Moment von Verletzlichkeit. ‘Substrates of (A)Life’ – Alexander Mordvintsev Eine Installation, welche die tiefe Ähnlichkeit von Biologie und Technologie zeigt. ‘Atavic Forest’ – @lunar_ring_art : Gonçalo Guiomar & @jonathan.uliel.saldanha Ein synthetischer Wald, gespeist aus tausenden künstlich erzeugten Naturbildern. ‘Surrogate’ – @laurenleemack Eine Untersuchung von Reproduktion und technologischer Kontrolle. ‘Speculative Evolution’ – @marcleeio Ein KI-Simulator entwirft neue Arten für ein zukünftiges Ökosystem. ‘Decoding Bias’ – @theresa_rwr Acht KI-Avatare in Gruppentherapie versuchen, diskriminierende Muster zu verlernen und legen damit menschliche Vorurteile offen. 📆 20.–29. März | Zürich 📍 Kulturhaus Helferei 🎟️ www.atafestival.io *** AI sleeps, designs species, and simulates entire forests. Six more works on view from March 20 at „After the Algorithm“ Festival: ‘Training Grounds’ – AATB A humanoid robot appears to sleep — between dream and retraining, machine learning emerges as a moment of vulnerability. ‘Substrates of (A)Life’ – Alexander Mordvintsev The installation reveals the deep parallels between biology and technology. ‘Atavic Forest’ – Lunar Ring: Gonçalo Guiomar & Jonathan Uliel Saldanha) A synthetic forest generated from thousands of artificially created images of nature. ‘Surrogate’ – Lauren Lee McCarthy A performative investigation of reproduction and technological control. ‘Speculative Evolution’ – Marc Lee An AI simulator designs new species for a future ecosystem. ‘Decoding Bias’ – Theresa Reiwer Eight AI avatars in group therapy attempt to unlearn discriminatory patterns revealing the human biases embedded in their code. 📆 March 20–29 | Zurich 📍 Kulturhaus Helferei 🎟️ www.atafestival.io #AfterTheAlgorithm #ATAFestival #AIArt #DigitalArt

KEIN KINO TONIGHT Guests:  AATB Andrea Anner Thibaut Brevet @aatb_ch When: 08/12/2025 6:30 pm (CET) Language: English Where: Kino Toni 3.G02 (Level 3) _ Andrea Anner and Thibault Brevet – founders of AATB – are artists and designers, both graduates from ECAL. Their ongoing research around human/machine interactions led them to investigate the potential of robotics and industrial automation to exist outside the realm of factory floors. Their artistic practice involves a tight connection and understanding of manufacturing processes, ranging from software programming, electronics to mechanical engineering and precision machining. Reflecting on the dissemination and assimilation of robotics into mundane activities, their work critically explores novel situations arising from these shifts. The studio is based in both Zurich and Marseille. Their work has been exhibited in institutions such as ZKM (Karlsruhe), V&A (Dundee), Ars Electronica (Linz), Chengdu Biennale (Chengdu), New Museum (New York), Venice Biennale of Architecture, Zollverein (Essen), Unfold X (Seoul), APS Museum (Shanghai), HEK (Basel), Istanbul Design Biennial, Milan Design Week, Museum für Gestaltung (Zürich). AATB have been artists in residence at CERN and at Atelier Luma in Arles. They have been awarded the Swiss Design Award in 2021. AATB have been teaching in most Swiss Art and Design universities (ZHDK, ECAL, HEAD, FHNW, HKB, SUPSI), as well as internationally: Seoul University of the Arts, Design Academy Eindhoven, HFG Karlsruhe, Iceland University of the Arts, amongst others. They have been lecturing and speaking at conferences internationally: Tokyo, Prague, The Hague, Seoul, Madrid, Berlin, Cannes, Torino. Webseite:  aatb.ch _ Photo credit: Portrait Andrea Anner & Thibaut Brevet. © AATB. _ Find out more on the interdisciplinary lecture series Kein Kino on design.zhdk.ch. _ Curator & host of Kein Kino: Maike Thies @maike.thies Identity: Abhash Mittal @abhashmittal

Sat 29 November 2025 – 19:00 Panel Discussion: AATB, Dr. Klaus Birk, Dr. Hubert Matt, Addie Wagenknecht, Grit Wolany Host: Pelin Kasar AATB transform robotics into a tender, uncanny choreography–revealing how automation already scripts our bodies, desires and everyday gestures. Dr. Klaus Birk (DHBW / CIM) brings a rare synthesis of design research, motion intelligence and urban futures–reminding us that every interface is also a cultural proposition. Dr. Hubert Matt’s philosophical and artistic perspective bridges decades of thinking about image, culture and existential clarity, grounding the conversation in a deeply human inquiry into meaning and perception. Addie Wagenknecht expands the field of authorship by letting machines misbehave–turning automation, vulnerability and error into a new grammar of contemporary aesthetics. © Erik Bont Grit Wolany moves effortlessly between art direction, visual poetry and AI research, navigating the space where design meets emerging technological sensibilities. As AI Scout at ZHdK, she investigates how generative systems can shape embodied, emotional, spatial experience–lifting algorithmic aesthetics off the screen and into installations that think, breathe, and resonate. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 🗓️ Thu 27 – Sun 30 November 2025 📍 Collini Areal, Schweizerstraße 69, 6845 Hohenems 🎟️ 50% student discount on all tickets ULTRAMATERIA – Art as research. Space as question. Technology as material. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

AATB treat robotics like a material—flexible, unpredictable, almost tender. The duo, Andrea Anner and Thibault Brevet, pushes industrial automation far beyond factory logic, transforming robotic arms into performers, collaborators, and sometimes awkward companions. Their practice merges engineering with choreography: software becomes gesture, precision machining becomes play, and human–machine interaction turns into a staged, slightly uncanny intimacy. By placing robots in everyday, non-industrial contexts, AATB reveal how deeply automation already choreographs our movements and desires. Their work asks a simple, radical question: what happens when machines stop producing things—and start producing experiences? Their work has been exhibited at ZKM (Karlsruhe), the New Museum in New York, the Venice Architecture Biennale, and the Istanbul Design Biennial, and they have held residencies at CERN. aatb.ch Sat 29 November 2025 18:45 Panel Discussion: Grit Wolany, Dr. Klaus Birk, Dr. Hubert Matt, Addie Wagenknecht & AATB (Host: Pelin Kasar) ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 🗓️ Thu 27 – Sun 30 November 2025 📍 Collini Areal, Schweizerstraße 69, 6845 Hohenems 🎟️ 50% student discount on all tickets ULTRAMATERIA – Art as research. Space as question. Technology as material. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– @_neongolden @gritney @miriamprantl @wheresaddie @hubert__dobler @aatb_ch @erdung_sound @ventermusic @l.u.v.369 @_starkalexander_ @lukasweithas @bettinasteindl @mirjam_steinbock @marchoffenscher @hubert.matt @stefankainbacher @l__n.m_r_tz.b_ch @simon_gallus @strg_n @mediendesignrv 🖤 @collini_group @dhbwravensburg @cim_immersive_media @campusvaere @designforumv @galerie_am_lindenplatz @lividdornbirn @nicolasbernklau ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #ultramateria #artasresearch #artandtech #immersiveart #newmediaart #contemporaryart #futureofart #spaceasquestion #industrialaesthetics #generativeart #performanceart #designfutures #artfestival #hohenems

From 2 - 5 October, the sixth edition of the international festival REFRESH took place at Toni-Areal. Running under the title «Futures of Uncertainties», the festival at the interface of Arts, Design and Technology brought together designers, artists and researchers from Switzerland and abroad to explore possible futures for Design and the Arts. Around 2800 guests visited REFRESH and gained profound insights in the working practices of the participating artists and designers during keynotes, masterclasses, screenings und performances. Thank you very much to every one who contributed and participated! Please visit our website to keep updated on REFRESH and future editions. refresh.zhdk.ch REFRESH is a collaboration between the Department of Design and the Immersive Arts Space of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). _ Pictures & credits 1 – Exhibition view «void avoid (return nothing)» by AATB. Kaskadenhalle Toni-Areal. Photo: David Jäggi, ZHdK. 2 – Guided tour. Project «void avoid (return nothing)» by AATB. Kaskadenhalle. Foto: David Jäggi, ZHdK. 3 – Exhibition view. Background: «Hyperhighways» by Fragmentin, Foreground: «RUMINANT 4444» by Mia Buser. Gallery 2. Photo. David Jäggi, ZHdK. 4 – Info desk REFRESH 2025. Eingangshalle. Photo: David Jäggi, ZHdK. 5 – Exhibition view «invisible fields» by Axel Tanner. Aktionsraum. Photo: David Jäggi, ZHdK. 6 – Exhibition view «anatomy of non-fact» by Martyna Marciniak. Aktionsraum. Photo: David Jäggi, ZHdK. 7 – Poster. Identity by Abhash Mittal. Photo: David Jäggi, ZHdK. _ TEAM:
– Head of REFRESH 2025:
Maike Thies @maike.thies Prof. Dr. Chris Salter @christopher_salter – Curation: Maike Thies @maike.thies – Visual Identity / Branding / Motion Design:
Abhash Mittal @abhashmittal – Technical Manager: Stefan Kraft @sutekura – Photo Documentation: David Jäggi – Scenography:
Stephan Wespi – Hospitality Management Leonie Blasi @le_oh_niee – Communication & Public Relations:
Maike Thies @maike.thies Anna Tschopp _ @zhdkcampus @zhdk_immersiveartsspace @aatb_ch @fragment.in @axltnnr @tyna_marc @miurbu @hanumatter @corina_zub

wooork in progress 🫠 void avoid(return nothing), our new work, opening wednesday at REFRESH X Fantoche 4. The international group exhibition REFRESH X Fantoche featuring games, video works and interactive installations runs under the title «24/7—Hard Work» and is dealing with the topic of work in the post-digital age. How do our work settings change in the face of our everyday life’s increasing permeation with technology and what are the consequences for us as human beings? Exhibition location:
Merker-Areal, Stanzerei
Bruggerstrasse 37, 5400 Baden Opening Hours:
September 3th 2025: noon to 8:00 pm
September 4th 2025: noon to 8:00 pm
September 5th 2025: noon to 8:00 pm
September 6th, 2025: noon to 10:00 pm
September 7th, 2025: noon to 6:00 pm We will be part of a panel “WORK WORK WORK – Artistic Practice in the post-digital age”on Saturday, September, 6th, 2025, 2:15 pm Data and algorithms permeate and direct today’s work environment as well as private life. Selected exhibition participants discuss what role design and the arts can play in reflecting on such societally transformative technological developments. In doing so, they speculate about the future of work in the area of conflict between performance, efficiency, fulfilment and recreation. Panelists:
AATB (Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet, artists and designers)
@absurda.ch (Nadja Häfliger & Basil Huwyler, designers)
@paskgi (Graduate Design BA Major Visual Communication) Presenter:
@maike.thies (Curator & Head of REFRESH festival) #human #machine #intelligence #interaction #robots #artificial #life #vision #embodied #ai #agent #robotics #gaze #dev #programming #code #newmediaart #contemporaryart #machinelearning #computervision #surveillance #refresh #fantoche #interactiveart #mediaart #art #technology #installation #prototype #exhibition